from our studios in tokyo, this is "newsline." executives at a major japanese telecommunications company appear to be dialing up the deal that would give them a major presence in the united states. nhk has learned that softbank is acquiring the third largest mobile phone carrier, sprint nextel. the purchase would spawn a global telecom giant.

the negotiations are going on as the use of smartphones and other mobile devices is growing worldwide. sprint nextel has more than 56 million subscribers. nhk sources say softbank executives are in negotiations to acquire two-thirds of the total shares. softbank's total investment is expected to reach about $12.8 billion. both firms are providers for apple's iphones and both use a high-speed wireless communications protocol called lte or long-term evolution. the stronger yen is believed to be a factor in softbank's consideration in aspiring to buy sprint nextel. softbank executive are amay or may notally hoping to vastly expand their network in the u.s. where the market is showing considerable growth. if successful, the deal would lead to the creation of a telecommunications company with more than 90 million subscribers. europe's financial leaders keep hearing others talk act their problems with debt. they're eager to turn the attention away from themselves.

members of the international monetary fund and the world bank are discussing global threats at their annual meetings being held in tokyo. and now finance stiministers fr the group of seven nations are getting into the mix. more from reiko sakurai. >> reporter: the europeans stressed how much effort they're putting into solving their problems. they agreed earlier this week to establish a bailout fund to assist financially strapped nations in the eurozone. participants worry about prosecutors semiing from the u.s., too. many fear predicted spending cuts and tax increases will drive down the u.s. economy over what's called the fiscal cliff. central bankers from the u.s. and elsewhere explained how they

were using additional monetary easing to curb their common problems. the ministers and governors didn't emerge with any official statements or even give signs of further coordinated action. they said something they've said before -- they'll keep working on it. reiko sakurai, nhk world, tokyo. the head of the imf is asking those around her to draw on the spirit of their hosts. l christine lagarde says she's impressed by the resilience japanese showed as they worked to recover from last year's disaster. she's calling on leaders to share that sense of cooperation. >> we expect action, and we expect courageous and cooperative action on the part of our members. >> lagarde says she and her colleagues unwhat needs to be done. she's urging banking supervisors to complete the job of rewriting the rules of finance. government leaders need to

tackle what she calls a legacy of high debt. lagarde says they should focus on getting people, particularly young people, back to work, and they should address the imbalances between rich and poor. she says financial leaders need to lift a veil of uncertainty. one of lagarde's deputies says everyone at the imf world bank meetings is focused on uncertainty. our ron madison talked with joo ming to find out what he hopes will come out of this conference. >> which hold the most threat do you think of potentially derailing a fragile economy? >> the current risk number one is still the european crisis. if the crisis intensifies, it can cause skwit a bit of damage for the whole world. we did a study to see if one extreme case, for example, if things go, it could cause

roughly 6% of gdp impact itself and roughly 6% for uk collective gdp impact, rough ly 2% for u.s and 2% for japan and china and the rest of the world. so, this is a pretty serious situation. >> we're seeing a slowdown now in china just ahead of the change of leadership there. how confident are you about the new leaders steering the country back to strong growth, and what are really the main challenges? >> it's very important at this moment for china to stabilize its growth. and we see in the past few months the government start to implement easing policy, accommodating monetary policy, cutting interest rates, cutting reserve rates, and fiscal policy of stimulus demand. so we see more or less china stabilize. that's the reason we forecast china will have 8.2% gdp growth for next year, which is very confident number. >> one thing that the new leaders will have to deal with

is the escalating tensions between japan and china. how effective do you think they'll be in helping to steer this to a conclusion, and really how disruptive is this dispute not just to the two countries but to the global economy? >> both china and japan are the second and third largest economies in the world and obviously the major players in the region. so we're confident it will be beneficial for both sides to solve this issue. i think that's very, very important for the region and for the world as a whole. >> okay. if it continues, though, how disruptive do you think this will be? >> i remain optimistic. i think they will be able to find a way to solve this issue in a mutually beneficial way. >> i've been talking a lot about the downsides to global economic growth. but where are you seeing some bright spots, and what's really giving you hope now? >> we forecast in the next five years the emerging market

low-income country probably account two-thirds of global growth, two-thirds of global consumption growth, and two-thirds of global trade growth. so they actually have more policy space. for example, emerging markets average have only 36% of government debts. they have a lot of monetary policy space. so there's room to manage and force stable growth. >> representatives from some of the emerging markets zhu min referred to gathered to discuss ways to deal with risks they feel have been imposed on them. brazil, russia, china, india, and south africa, also known as brics want developed nations to speed up their response to the economic slowdown. brics nns min sfers met ahead of friday's session of the international monetary fund. china's vice finance minister headed his country's delegation. the officials agreed problems in

countries are having a severe impact on their own economies. the issues include uncertainties in the u.s. and europe's ongoing crisis. india's finance minister chaired the meeting. he urged advanced economies to put their house in order quickly so growth will be revived. brazil's finance minister said the brics meeting helped accelerate talks on setting up a new fund that could complement the existing international lending framework. china's deputy central bank governor also atemded the meeting. he denied speculation that the governor stayed away from the imf world bank conference because of the dispute with japan over the senkaku islands. >> translator: i think this is very normal. you look at what happened in 2008, i led the delegation when we attended the conference in washington. it's normal. >> the u.s. treasury secretary

addressed one of the issues, the brics nations, and many other nations are concerned about. timothy geithner spoke about the fiscal cliff. he's also attending the imf/world bank meetings. geithner says u.s. politicians are trying to break a stalemate in congress before the end of the year to avoid the combined economic impact of tax increases and deep spending cuts. >> i don't think the strategy of deferring and delaying is really a responsible strategy. you know, it might feel like the easy path at the moment, but it will still leave a set of big questions hanging over the country. >> geithner and other economists say not addressing the situation will be detrimental to the economy and investor confidence. delegates of the imf/world bank conference are holding various side meetings. representatives of neighs that support myanmar's economy sat down to hash out a strategy. japanese officials plan to

support loans to the country to promote its growing democracy and development. finance minister koriki fuj. jojima says the japanese government will forgive all the country's outstanding debts to japan totaling 500 billion yen or $6.4 billion. that takes effect in january next year. he adds government-affiliated financial institutions in japan will help myanmar repay loans it owns to the world bank and other creditors. massive foreign debts have been a huge burden for the southeast asian country. it's been pressing ahead with democratic and economic reforms since a civilian-led government took over last year. businesses from japan and other countries are now on the lookout for investment opportunities there. world bank president jim yong kim gave nhk his perspective on myanmar.

>> we are all extremely encouraged by the reforms that the government has undertaken. we're looking to try to get a complete record of all the arrears that that country currently has. but our hope is that as a global community all together we can begin to move forward and provide support for myanmar in the very near future. i would hope sometime early in 2013. >> he also referred to territorial disputes japan has with china and south korea. >> japan and china, south korea, too, will all agree that the benefits of deepening economic cooperation, cultural exchange is going to so far outweigh any territorial disputes that we'll see resolution to this issue very quickly. >> japan's finance minister and his south korean counterpart agree with the world bank president on the benefits of closer economic ties.

they held a one-on-one discussion on the sidelines of the imf/world bank meeting. they say they're determined to work together despite differences over territory. minister jojima told south korean strategy and finance minister that their country should closely coordinate their economic and financial policies. pak responded that stronger ties are especially important during tough economic times. this is the second japan/south korean ministerial meeting in two weeks. jojima and pak also agreed to resume regular talks between their ministries. that's been on hold since august when south korean president lee myung-bak visited an island in the sea of japan. south korea controls the territory. japan claims it. a chinese novelist who has written about his country's rich past and the complex issues it

faces in the present has joined an exclusive club. mo yan is the winner of this year's nobel prize in literature. members of the swedish academy made the announcement on thursday. >> the nobel prize in literature for 2012 is awarded to the chinese writer mo yan. >> mo is 57 years old. he shot to fame after publishing "red sorghum" in 1986. the novel vividly portrays the lives of chinese peasants in the 1930s. it became a film. both the novel and movie won international acclaim. mo's 2009 book "frog" focuses on a character who promotes the chinese government's one-child policy. the female doctor provides abortions in a maternity clinic. members of the swedish academy says mo uses a hallucinatory realism to merge folk tales, history, and the contemporary.

turkish authorities have forced a syrian passenger plane to land in ankara. they suspected it might have been carrying weapons or military equipment. turkish media report the plane was on its way to damascus from moscow. they say about 30 passengers and crew were on board. authorities won't disclose what they found. they only say they've examined the cargo. however, the foreign minister did mention inspectors that are not permitted on civilian flights. media reports say the inspectors found missile components and military communications equipment. authorities allowed the plane to take off several hours later. following the incident, the turkish government called on the country's airlines to avoid flying over syria in an apparent effort to avoid retaliation. turkey's military is continuing its retaliatory attacks against syria. shells from syria landed last week in a turkish border town, killing five people. recent defections of north korean soldiers to the south

have shaken the two countries' militaries. in the north, an army chief may have been demoted for allowing the defections. in the south, the military is under fire for failing to detect a north korean soldier crossing the dmz. in july, cho was promoted to vice marshal. but in a photo provided by the state-run media on wednesday, his insignia was that of a general rather than that of a vice marshal. the media made no mention of his apparent demotion, but said he observers say he was probably disciplined for the recent defections. in south korea, the military is under fire over the defection of a soldier from the north on october 2nd. border troops reported initially they took the soldier into custody after spotting him with surveillance camera. but in fact the camera was not functioning and the soldier had simply walked past a watchtower and knocked on the door of a guard post. the joint chiefs of staff were notified of the lie the next day, but that information was

not passed on to the top official, who testified before parliament on monday with false information. the family of the former peruvian president alberto fujimori is asking the government to release him early from prison for humanitarian reasons. fujimori was convicted three years ago for ordering security forces to kill peruvian citizens in the early 1990s. he's been serving a 25-year prison term outside the capital, lima. fujimori's family applied for a pardon on wednesday with peru's justice ministry. they say the 70-year-old former leader's health has worsened since he underwent his fifth tongue surgery in august. fujimori had been reluctant to seek a pardon. he feared that doing so would imply his admission of the crime. but his family recently persuaded him to change his mind. many peruvians critical of fujimori's heavy handed presidency are opposed to an ams me any. they now must wait to see how

the president handles the family's request. nato is scheduled to pull its troops out of afghanistan by the end of 2014, but the organization is facing criticism that it's rushing to leave amidst questions of whether the country will be able to maintain security on its own. patchari raksawong at our bureau in bangkok has the details. representatives from 28 nato member countries met in brussels on wednesday to discuss the road map for withdrawing security personnel from war-torn afghanistan. they agreed to proceed as scheduled. nhk world's takashi ichinose reports. >> reporter: defense ministers confirm there's no change to the exit strategy. they say that 75% of the population of afghanistan lives in areas where order is maintained by afghan national military and police forces. nato secretary general anders fogh rasmussen stressed the

withdrawal plan is based on an objective analysis of the situation in the country. >> it's not because isaf partners rushed for the exit. it's not because of lack of cohesion within our coalition. on the contrary, we have agreed to hand over to the afghans, and as they step forwards, our troops can step backwards. >> reporter: about 100,000 troops from 50 countries including the u.s. are deployed to maintain security in afghanistan. the international forces are training afghan army and police personnel so they can fill the void after foreign troops leave the country. but trust between the two sides is being undermined by a series of recent insider attacks. international soldiers have been killed by afghan military or police personnel or people wearing afghan uniforms. anti-american sentiment has also been growing in afghanistan.

violent protests have spread in muslim countries around the world after a film made in america offended muslims by denigrating the prophet mohamed. the taliban is trying to seize the opportunity to increase its leverage. at the meeting in brussels, the defense ministers agreed to continue tasks after pulling troops out such as training local, army, and police personnel. they also decided to draw up complex withdrawal plans by early next year, including the number of personnel and budget. as the date for complete exit approaches, it is imperative for nato to restore security in afghanistan or criticism of the exit plan will intensify. takashi ichinose, nhk world, brussels. criticism is mounting against an insurgent attack on a

teenage pakistani girl. the backlash is not limited to pakistan as members of the international community are expressing outrage at the shooting. >> translator: we are very sad that an attack targeted a harmless girl who was just seeking her right to an education. >> translator: such an assault on innocent people is not allowed in islam or any other religion. women and children should not become targets. neither should innocent or unarmed civilians. >> reuters reports that the pakistani president, prime minister, and other political leaders denounce the incident. malala yousufazi, a 14-year-old student, was shot and critically wounded on tuesday on her way home from school in her hometown northwest of the capital islamabad. she was transferred to a military hospital and is said to be in critical condition following surgery. reuters says yousufazi wrote a

blog under a pen name aimed at international media and describing living under the rule of the pakistani taliban. the pakistani taliban claims responsibility, saying her activities were pro-western and she had opposed the group. united nations secretary general ban ki-moon expressed outrage and strong condemnation over the attack in a statement. ban dubbed the attack a heinous and cowardly act and called for those responsible to be swiftly brought to justice. he added that he was deeply moved by the girl's efforts to promote the right to education. friday marks the tenth anniversary of the bombings that hit the island of bali in 2002, leaving over 200 people dead. police are tightening security for a commemorative ceremony after discovering a possible threat. >> translator: we have gathered information that shows signs of

a planned attack on dignitaries who will attend the event. the police and armed forces are preparing themselves. >> the indonesian police are deploying over 2,000 personnel and plan to enforce strict measures to prevent any disturbances. on october 12th, 2002, bombers set off explosives loaded in a van and planted elsewhere in a busy district of the island, killing 202 people, including foreign tourists. the attack dealt a deep blow to the island's tourist industry, which is the backbone of the local economy. and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. some of you are probably concerned about the latest typhoon. here with an update is robert speta. >> this is typhoon prapiroon. just towards the east in the

philippines but still intensi intensifying. the last several frames, look at that well-defined eye near the center of circulation. what that's indicating is a much stronger storm, winds gusting upwards of 234 kilometers per hour, that pressure continuing to drop down to 940 hpa. with that said, it's expected to intensify and track off towards the north. really at this time the track is remaining erratic as it approaches the southern japanese islands. it very well could bring gusty winds. on friday, expecting upwards of 108 kilometer-per-hour winds there in okinawa. some high waves, up to about 5 meters high, at the coastlines here. definitely very dangerous surf and rip currents are going to be expected out of this storm system. but okinawa, you do not need another typhoon. since mid-august, you've had three strong typhoons move over the main island of okinawa here. you've had your fair share. hopefully it starts to turn off toward the northeast.

some of the japanese islands could see a significant storm system for the early part of next week. across northern japan, we have a low-pressure area that's been bringing severe weather. 13 of japan's 47 prefectures today have seen some sort of tornado watch, some gusty winds, about 83 kilometers per hour. winds have been recorded out here upwards towards hokkaido. you've been seeing heavy rainfall and strong storms. i want to show you this out of hokkaido. this is a pair of waterspouts along the western portions. you can see them. good news, they did remain out over the water so no damage or injuries were recorded. many of the ships stayed away from these storms as they continued to brew, but it shows the severity of these storms moving over japan today. good news is that going into friday, we have a high pressure coming in from the west here. this is going to start to clear things out, bring us some much fairer weather in behind it. even towards northeastern china and much of eastern china, you're seeing fair weather, as well. temperatures are cooling down, ulaanbaatar, minus 2 for the

high. even towards tokyo getting cooler. friday, expecting a high of 24. now, going over towards the americas, we are seeing a low-pressure area in southern california, and going over towards utah, that's going to be bringing some of the first significant snowfall of the season. some areas here, that's going to continue to push towards the east. also seeing significant snowfall into southern ontario. we have a low-pressure area that could accumulate upwards of ant 20 centimeters of snow in some areas. western great lakes, about 10 centimeters of snow. all this cold air with this low-pressure area is going to be conflicting with some warm air from the south. severe weather is expected from oklahoma over towards tennessee. if you have any travel plans in and out of this area, you want to watch out for that. large hail, frequent lightning coming out of these storms. temperature difference, houston with a high of 32. look at chicago, much cooler north of that frontal area. 17 expected here on your thursday. now, in europe, though, expecting a cooldown this frontal area pushes over the british isles. this is going to bring some wet weather across much of the

region even going into france and germany by the latter part of your workweek here. some rain showers expected there. also into italy, expecting a low-pressure area to continue to linger here. some heavy rainfall could be seen. temperatures will shape up like this. very autumn-like in london. paris at 13 and 15. berlin, much cooler, a high of 12 here on your friday. here's your extended forecast. ♪

thanks for watching this edition of "newsline." don't go away, for there's more to come here on nhk world.